German utility model DE 299 15 180 discloses mobile telephone units with connecting devices between the mobile telephone unit and an external connector arrangement such as a motor vehicle connection, data plug, mains unit or the like. The mobile telephone unit is electrically conductively connected to the external connector arrangements by the connecting devices. The described electrical connecting device is subdivided into two regions, wherein the one region comprises loop-shaped spring contacts and the other region is of a coaxial structure with loop-shaped or sleeve-shaped external contacts. In the known design, the contact elements are of a specific configuration, depending on the respective nature of the transmitted signal, that is to say depending on whether the situation involves an antenna coaxial contact or a supply voltage contact.
Another connecting device is described in DE 689 10 184 T2. That connecting device comprises a plug fitted to the end of the antenna cable and a guide passage with contacts which is arranged in or on a radio unit.
An electrically conductive contact is achieved by pushing the plug into the guide passage. A connection cannot be formed by simply placing the radio unit on to the plug, but the plug and the guide passage must be pushed one into the other.
A further connecting device is disclosed in DE 198 44 730 A1. It serves for connecting a mobile radio unit to an external antenna. The structure of the connecting device is coaxial and the arrangement does not include any connecting elements for transmitting further signals, such as for example supply voltages.
DE 695 13 512 T2 proposes a further connecting device which permits contacting of a part of a radio communication unit to/with an electrical circuit. That connecting device aims at a permanent connection, it is not designed for frequent, flexible separation and connection, as would be required for example between a mobile telephone holder and a base member which can be mounted at a stationary position in a motor vehicle.
In the case of the other connecting device disclosed in EP 0 578 099 A1, a releasable coaxial plug connector element is pushed on to the pin of a pin strip array. As the plug element must be pushed on to the pin with a very high degree of accuracy, that kind of mechanical connection is not suitable for connecting a mobile telephone holder to a base member which can be stationarily mounted in a motor vehicle.
DE 199 45 176 A1 which is not a prior publication discloses a connecting device in the form of an arrangement of spring contacts in a predetermined grid pattern. Those spring contacts serve to pick up signals on a printed circuit board (PCB) and transmit them to a measuring device. There is no provision for use with mobile telephones.
Other known high-frequency connecting devices are in the form of so-called coaxial plug connections. As the connecting elements, they have a plug and a socket. The plug and the socket each comprise an inner conductor and a sleeve-like outer conductor which serves for shielding purposes. In the connecting position the inner conductors and the outer conductors of the plug and the socket engage one into the other in axially contacting relationship. A dielectric layer is arranged between the inner conductor and the outer conductor. The dielectric layer is in the form of a coating on at least one of the outer and inner conductors of the plug and the socket. The coaxial connectors with components which engage one into each other are thus relatively complex and are of a filigree structure, and they are also susceptible to wear.
Known coaxial connectors of that kind are frequently employed for uses inter alia also in telecommunication devices as in mobile telephone devices, for example hands-free speaker devices in motor vehicles. The coaxial connection serves for the transmission of the antenna signals between the mobile telephone and a holding cradle which is designed for temporarily receiving the mobile telephone, in practice being referred to just as the cradle, and also for transmission of those signals between the cradle and a base member which is mounted fixedly to the motor vehicle and to which the cradle can connecting elements, which are be coupled for holding purposes. The fixedly installed in those components, of the coaxial connectors, more specifically the socket and the plug, are susceptible to wear and fouling. In practice, it frequently happens that the socket becomes clogged and blocked by particles of dust or that condensate water accumulates therein. Furthermore, in practical use, mechanical damage sometimes occurs due to bending of the filigree components of those plug connections. There are thus also handling disadvantages when inserting and removing the mobile telephone into and from the cradle and when fitting the cradle on the base member which is fixed with respect to the vehicle and releasing the cradle therefrom, for, simultaneously with the steps of connecting and releasing the mechanical coupling devices, the respective electrical coaxial connection also has to be made or released respectively. Added to that is the fact that, in addition to the electrical power supply and signal conduction, further electrical connecting devices also have to be provided between the mobile telephone and the cradle and between the cradle and the base portion respectively, and those further electrical connecting devices also have to be handled automatically when mechanically connecting and releasing the components. Those further electrical connecting devices are of a different structure and operate differently from the coaxial connectors used, whereby the specific design structure and handling when coupling and releasing that overall complex arrangement are made still more complicated.
The object of the present invention is to improve a mobile telephone device in such a way that handling when releasing and connecting the mechanical and at the same time electrical coupling between the cradle and the base member which can be fixedly mounted in the motor vehicle and/or between the mobile telephone and the cradle, can be carried out easily and involving a small amount of wear.